Travel Blogs from Medellin, Colombia

Hard to believe that 20 years ago Medellin was one of the most dangerous cities on the planet. Today, it is a picturesque metropolis with a fantastic collections of restaurants and bars. The downtown section didn't have much to offer but the Metrocable ...

... . She keeps telling me its whenever I want to go, so I'm thinking Monday! I find that to be a common theme in Colombia- "whatever". I rarely come upon a concrete plan. For example, when I asked what time we will be leaving for Grandma's later on ...

... which we knew nothing about (must learn to do some research) and our hostel was fully booked so we headed straight for Medellin (The home of Pablo Escobar and the famous Botero). Medellin has its fair share of Museums, up market restaurants and Gigantic ...

Colombians seem to be very indecisive and unwilling to commit to anything right away. They are up for fun adventures and the idea of doing something spectacular, but when it comes to the actual planning their heads are stuck in the clouds. Intentions are ...

... But the bus is by far the most interesting part of the journey. Its more than a journey itself. The buses here in Medellin are a bit of a cross between an everyday mini-bus and the chicken busses of Guatamalean elk. No more than 28 seats, with ...

... own to mingle with the locals as I have here when the dabbling turned into debauchery. Despite the annoyances, Medellin is a great city, though the Centro should definitely be avoided after dark. Parque Lleras is without a doubt one of ...

Since our test had postponed until today I had some extra time to study and even crammed in a few minutes on the bus. Today Bailing was not in class and so it was just Jim and I. I felt sorry for him, being tested on something he hasn't learned yet and I ...

... can trust and who has moved this country forward in a positive direction with his actions.
I arrived safely in Medellin, couchsurfed with a Colombian friend named Raul, met various other "couchsurfistas", checked out this huge city, jumped on ...

... , but here on Sunday's everyone is well known. All of the fields, courts, are pools are strictly reserved for the teachers of Medellin and their guests. It is a large amount of space to occupy, but it easily fills up. There are volleyball, basketball, and ...

After a flat tire (right at the start of a 5-minute cloudburst), a ditto battery and a drenched backpack (see the cloudburst), I arrive to Medellín late and not really in a sunny mood. That feeling won't last long though, as the next day I will add a ...

... clean. You can also see how upscale it is by how varied the restaurants, hotels, and stores are. No where else in Medellin will you find a trendy Japanese joint like Sushi Light. Ryan and I waited twenty minutes before being seated. We purposely ...

From Bogota we flew in a lovely new Airbus A320, we were a bit late in taking off for reasons we never quite got to the bottom of. Followed a short but rather bumpy hour's journey over the mountains, to arrive slightly late and to be met by Keith and ...

Papi was strumming the guitar as we plunged our hands into the massive garbage bag full of "munecitos" (little dolls). The decoartion theme in our house this Christmas is "peluches" (stuffed animals/dolls) and Mami has been preparing for this day for ...

... that this supermarket could have so much stuff. Its like a wonderland, full of surprises! I was told before I came to Colombia that supermarkets would be something of an experience here. Massive with 40-50 odd checkouts and selling everything you could ...

... the museum with the many picasso pieces and then hanging around until I could get an overnight bus to Bogota and avoid arriving there in darkness. Medellin is definitely worth a visit but unless you want to party hard I would suggest avoiding the ...

... died in related violence over the next 10 years in a period called... La Violencia. This period also saw rapid growth of Colombia's famous paramilitary and guerrilla groups like FARC, ELN, M19, and others. Pablo illustrated these divisions with fists. The ...

... of the city first in Spanish then in English. George, our guide, was an overly energetic, young, nerdy, religious and underground camp Medellin local who took an immediate liking to Steve. Along the way, he told us that he had always wanted to Surf and ...

... to get to school. Jump in the car, throw it in reverse and get on my way. The only delays are the red lights. In Colombia, not only is the distant greater but there is the possibility that you have to wait fifteen or twenty minutes for the bus. There is ...

... to explore and headed to Plazoleta de las Esculturas where there are lots of large bronze sculptures by Fernando Botero, Medellin’s famous artist. His paintings and sculptures are united by their proportionally exaggerated, or "fat" figures. I also ...

... . We were treated to a first taste of Columbian soccer - a hard faught local derby between Envigado and Nacional Medellin. Standing in the Nacional End of the ground, the fans' singing and dancing was relentless, not pausing ...

Monday 21st was spent wandering around 'Santafe Mall', the biggest shopping mall we have ever seen, five floors of shopping with an extensive choice in all products. Not to be outdone by Winks, Alan also bought some Colombian Crocs, and we found a few ...

It seems that my body is adjusting to my schedule and I no longer need to rely on an alarm clock to wake up. This morning I had over an hour and a half to prepare for the day. Mami had already made lunch (steamed and season vegetables) and put it in a ...

... is over 2,500m, so it wasn´t very warm and quite rainy (we came to Columbia for summer experience). So we headed to Medellin, in hope of better weather and to finally meet up with Gav and Barry (lads from Skerries). We also bumped into some ...

... of a holiday nobody could tell us the reason for. We later learned that it was for Cartagena´s independence, and that Colombia has so many holidays that often times, the residents don´t even know what they´re for. Eventually, we found an ...

... watching the show with my dad and always imitating the signature "Z" move. Santa Fe de Antiquia used to be the capital of the Medellin area in 1541. When the government moved to Medellin in 1826 the town was abandoned. Not until more recent years, when it ...